Police use water cannon against rioters in Northern Ireland | UK news
Police in Northern Ireland used water cannon against rioters during the second night of anti-immigrant protests.
He dispersed a crowd of about 300 people who burned a lorry and threw bricks and tear gas near the Sandyknowes junction near Newtown abbey, eight miles north of Belfast.
Unrest was also reported in Derry and Coleraine, but overall there was less disturbance than on Tuesday, when gangs targeted ethnic minorities, with a man seriously injured in a stabbing attack in north Belfast on Monday night.
Several advertised protests, including one at Belfast City Hall, did not materialize on Wednesday evening. A protest at Stormont, the seat of the devolved government, drew dozens of people and ended peacefully.
The family of stabbing victim Stephen Ogilvie have condemned violent protests and called for an end to misinformation. “We have witnessed a lot of misinformation circulating on social media, forcing us to clarify that our loved one’s condition is actually stable, and we are currently focusing solely on his recovery,” the family said in a statement issued through the police.
The statement expressed disgust at the scenes of violent mayhem. “We want to make it absolutely clear that doing this in response is not supported by our family and that peaceful protest is the only way forward.”
Many of the protesters from the Sandyknowes intersection wore dark clothing and covered their faces with masks, and reportedly planned to target a nearby hotel believed to be hosting migrants.
Demonstrators tore down garden fencing to use as barricades and shields and used tyres, furniture and wheelie bins to start a massive fire. A white van was reportedly driven into flames by a man who left it in gear and jumped out. Police tried to extinguish the flames.
In the incident where a flying rock hit his head, a person who received first aid was taken to the hospital by ambulance. A police officer was also hit in the head but is not thought to be seriously injured.
He shouted from the police vehicles at the intersection in Newtownabbey, “Attention, attention, disperse immediately, otherwise water pressurized will be used and no other warning will be given.”
Sitting at a bus stop between police and protesters, an elderly woman took off her hood to protect herself from the water. “He said he was over the problems and wasn’t going to move,” another woman said.
A group of onlookers gathered in a nearby park to watch, some filming the violence, while one of the rioters shouted: “Put your bloody phones away, or it’s your turn.”
After hours of conflict, the protesters were dispersed by the police around 23.30. They left behind a street littered with bricks and garbage, torn-up driveways and burnt vehicle shells to be used as ammunition. Fire crews responded to the burning empty house.
Stormont ministers issued a joint statement condemning the unrest on Tuesday night, saying it spread fear and endangered innocent lives. “No community has benefited from these actions. The incident in North Belfast on Monday was deeply shocking. While we understand the strength of our feelings about what happened, the incident is now subject to legal action and justice must be allowed to take its course.”
Hadi Alodid, 30, of Duncairn Street, Belfast, was charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie. He was also charged with possessing a knife in a public place on Kinnaird Avenue the same day.
The ministers’ statement said people were intent on destroying the very communities they claimed to be trying to protect.
“They are weaponizing the real pain, anxiety and anger that people feel for their own misguided purposes,” he said.
